100 Activities for Teaching Study Skills is a sourcebook of activities for study skills tutors, teachers and support staff. This practical, user-friendly guide is designed to complement your existing study skills materials, and provide innovative and imaginative ways for you to motivate and engage your students. Activities include:

Study preparation and time management

Reading, writing and listening

Independent study and group-work

Dissertations, reports and projects

Critical and creative thinking

Revision, examinations and tests.

All activities contain clear guidance about the purpose, level and type of activity, along with a range of discussion notes that signpost key issues and research insights. Students are encouraged to reflect on and develop their study skills, while connecting them to subject content and the process of learning, so that they become more motivated, enhance their learning and increase their chances of success.

SECTION 1: STUDY PREPARATION

Activity 1: Bringing learning to life

Activity 2: Becoming a reflective learner

Activity 3: Learning to learn

Activity 4: Recognising, analysing and critiquing learning styles

Activity 5: Developing metacognition

Activity 6: Improving concentration and memory

Activity 7: Recognising and overcoming imposter syndrome

Activity 8: Fostering collaborative learning and interaction

SECTION 2: ORGANISATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Activity 9: Making the right learning choices

Activity 10: Preparing a study plan

Activity 11: Managing time

Activity 12: Completing coursework and meeting deadlines

Activity 13: Organising study

Activity 14: Overcoming organisation problems

Activity 15: Maximising productivity

SECTION 3: READING

Activity 16: Developing academic reading

Activity 17: Establishing academic reading groups

Activity 18: Producing a personal reading strategy

Activity 19: Adopting different reading styles

Activity 20: Searching for literature

Activity 21: Organising and citing reading

Activity 22: Reading and critiquing research reports and papers

SECTION 4: WRITING

Activity 23: Improving spelling, punctuation and grammar

Activity 24: Developing academic writing skills

Activity 25: Establishing academic writing circles

Activity 26: Structuring essays and assignments

Activity 27: Editing and proofreading

Activity 28: Overcoming writer’s block

Activity 29: Getting the most from tutor feedback

SECTION 5: LISTENING, OBSERVING AND NOTE-TAKING

Activity 30: Becoming an active listener

Activity 31: Improving listening skills

Activity 32: Using audio devises

Activity 33: Improving observation skills

Activity 34: Getting the most out of lectures and seminars

Activity 35: Taking notes effectively

Activity 36: Editing and organising notes

SECTION 6: SCIENCE AND MATHS

Activity 37: Reading scientific material

Activity 38: Knowing about the scientific method

Activity 39: Maths for unconfident adults

Activity 40: Undertaking experiments

Activity 41: Producing scientific reports and papers

Activity 42: Interpreting and critiquing data

Activity 43: Using data visualisation tools

SECTION 7: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Activity 44: Planning independent study

Activity 45: Getting the most from the library

Activity 46: Conducting online research

Activity 47: Using primary and secondary sources

Activity 48: Evaluating sources

Activity 49: Organising, managing and storing information

Activity 50: Finding truth and fact in mass information

SECTION 8: GROUP-WORK

Activity 51: Establishing study groups

Activity 52: Getting the most out of group-work

Activity 53: Producing group assignments

Activity 54: Introducing online study groups

Activity 55: Using online tools for collaborative study

Activity 56: Surviving virtual group-work

SECTION 9: IT, ASSISTIVE LEARNING AND E-LEARNING

Activity 57: Gaining confidence with IT for academic study

Activity 58: Making the most of IT facilities and support

Activity 59: Using software for research

Activity 60: Getting the most out of online learning

Activity 61: Making the most of assistive technology

Activity 62: Introducing data mining

Activity 63: Finding and using datasets

Activity 64: Knowing about data protection

SECTION 10: DISSERTATIONS, REPORTS AND PROJECTS

Activity 65: Planning and managing personal projects

Activity 66: Using statistics, facts, arguments and opinions

Activity 67: Producing an effective argument

Activity 68: Citing, referencing and producing a bibliography

Activity 69: Producing successful written work

Activity 70: Making oral presentations

Activity 71: Producing a dissertation

SECTION 11: RESEARCH AND ENQUIRY

Activity 72: Producing a research proposal

Activity 73: Undertaking a literature review

Activity 74: Choosing research topics and methods

Activity 75: Improving interview techniques

Activity 76: Designing questionnaires

Activity 77: Running focus groups

Activity 78: Introducing data analysis techniques

SECTION 12: CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING

Activity 79: Developing thoughts and imagination

Activity 80: Reflecting, thinking and making connections

Activity 81: Learning how to question

Activity 82: Solving problems

Activity 83: Hypothesising and theorising

Activity 84: Reasoning inductively and deductively

Activity 85: Analysing and critiquing

Activity 86: Applying learning

SECTION 13: REVISION, EXAMINATIONS AND TESTS

Activity 87: Understanding the reasons for assessment

Activity 88: knowing about the different types of assessment

Activity 89: Revising effectively

Activity 90: Preparing for an exam

Activity 91: Taking an exam

Activity 92: Improving exam marks

Activity 93: Coping with stress

SECTION 14: ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

Activity 94: knowing about plagiarism

Activity 95: Recognising and avoiding academic malpractice

Activity 96: Recognising ethical issues and dilemmas when using the internet

Whether you are getting started or are an experienced learning developer and lecturer, Dawson’s comprehensive study skills resource book will inspire and engage. Supported by adaptable student handouts, the activities are clearly explained, structured and varied, incorporating self-study, one-to-one and group delivery, with scope to stand alone or be embedded and tailored to meet curriculum and student needs. This versatile book will encourage you as a tutor to reflect and reconsider study skills teaching through a range of different topics, contexts and progressively across different levels of study, helping you to scaffold and support the student journey in participatory, imaginative and interactive ways.

Dr Amanda Tinker

Academic Skills Coordinator, University of Huddersfield

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Catherine Dawson

Dr Catherine Dawson studied at university in the UK for an undergraduate degree in Combined Humanities, a Master’s Degree in Social Research and a PhD that looked at the learning choices of adults returning to education. She has worked as a research assistant, research associate and tutor at various UK universities and as a research and training officer in both the public and private sectors. Over the years she has developed and taught research methods courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students and has designed and delivered bespoke research methods training sessions to employees at all levels in the private sector. During her... More About Author